


Midas and Medusa

by Doyouhearthebloggerssing



Category: Greek Tragedy, Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-25
Updated: 2013-12-05
Packaged: 2018-01-02 15:13:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1058290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doyouhearthebloggerssing/pseuds/Doyouhearthebloggerssing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>King Midas gets asked for a quest to kill Medusa</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was just an ordinary day for king Midas, he woke up in his golden bed under his golden sheets and he tried not to touch anything. When he asked the god of wine, Dionysus, the power to turn everything he touched into gold, his life changed dramatically. He couldn’t eat anything, he couldn’t grab anything, he wasn’t able to do anything because he would accidentally turn it into gold. 

After his servants fed him, a man came into his home. He told king Midas about a woman who lived on the top of a mountain, a group of men climbed the mountain a few days back, but only one returned. That one man told about Medusa, the woman on the mountain, told terrifying things, he said that she had snakes on her head instead of hair and if she looked you in your eyes, you’d turn into stone. “Would you climb the mountain to kill this evil woman?” the stranger asked  
“Well, I don’t know if I can, ever since my wish came true I’ve been useless”  
“Your talent makes you the most perfect man in Greece to do the job! You can just climb the mountain with you eyes closed and touch her! She’d turn into gold and the problem would be solved!”  
“You do make a great point there, my friend. I’ll take this challenge! What do I have to lose?”

And so king Midas started his journey, he took his most loyal servants, Atalo, with him and began his quest. Atalo fed king Midas when he was hungry and after one day and one night they were close to the top of the mountain. “You should go back now” king Midas ordered Atalo.  
“But I can’t leave you now! If I go back, who will feed you after you killed Medusa?”  
“I’m not sure if I can kill her, I am king in a city of peace, I’ve never killed anyone! That’s why I want you to go back, there is a big chance that I won’t make it, but that does not mean that you have to go down with me!”  
“But I can’t leave you now, if I go back you’ll certainly die!”  
“Then I will.”  
“Please come back with me! We could say that Medusa send us back as a warning, that she doesn’t want anybody to climb the mountain ever again and she just wants to be left alone!”  
“What kind of life would that be? I don’t want to live this life anymore! I need your help for everything!”  
“But I love helping you! I… I love you.”

King Midas was stunned by this statement, he didn’t know what to say. He never expected this! How could he? He never thought about Atalo in that way, he was just his servant, his friend maybe , but nothing more! After a nerve-wracking moment king Midas broke the silence “I’m sorry but I don’t share your feelings, I’m afraid that I just don’t feel about you in that way. I am more like Zeus than Apollo when it comes to romantic love, and you know as well as I do that I’m not like Zeus at all. I don’t know if I’m making sense here, I really hope that I am because I wouldn’t want to hurt you in any way!”  
While king Midas spoke, the mind of Atalo drove off more and more. He couldn’t handle the refusal of his first and only love! Tears appeared in the corners of his eyes, Atalo didn’t want king Midas to see him like this so he ran away and kept running. King Midas tried to follow him, but couldn’t run as fast as his servant. King Midas was just about to give up the chase when he heard a horrifying scream. Midas followed the sound and found Atalo, lying on the hard, dry ground. He was bitten by a poisonous snake and the venom was slowly making way through his body. Midas could was clearly see the pain in his face when he cried out “Midas please, please make the pain stop, touch me and turn me into gold. I’d rather have a quick death than die from this slow, harsh poison.” Midas didn’t know what to do, he wanted to help Atalo, he really did! But kill him? Midas had never killed anyone on purpose, only before he realized how terrible his ‘gift’ really was. He saw how badly his friend was acing so he decided that he should help him. When his hand came closer Atalo whispered his last words: “Midas, I love you.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midas meets Medusa

Midas sat down next to his golden servant. His loyal servant! He did not love him like a lover, but he certainly loved him as a friend. “What should I do now?” Midas wondered. He knew that he had to go on, if he’d go back now, Atalo’s death would have been for nothing. Midas didn’t want anyone to find Atalo’s golden body and sell it. As a last goodbye he kissed his friends forehead, he could finally touch him now, and buried him beneath the biggest tree on the mountain so he could return there and pay his respects later. Midas placed a few flowers he found nearby top of the loosened earth and continued his journey.

Medusa had already seen Midas climbing. She knew what his mission was, but she’d fallen in love with him the moment she saw him. In Midas she saw a companion, she turns people into stone when they look at her, he turns people into gold when he touches them. Medusa was sure that Midas would understand her and maybe even return her quickly enlightened love. When Medusa saw Atalo’s confession to Midas, she didn’t like it at all! Midas would be hers and no servant would keep him away from her! In a jealous rage she send a poisonous snake to kill Atalo, she was the one who killed him.

Our beloved king was almost on top on the mountain, almost by his target; Medusa. He closed his eyes because he knew she’d turn him into stone otherwise and continued walking with his hands before his body so he could feel the trees in front of him. Suddenly he heard a lovely but stern voice “Hello Midas, I’ve been expecting you.” it said. Midas was confused, is this the evil woman he was ought to kill? How could this woman, with a voice sweeter than honey and stronger than Hercules, be evil?   
“Are you Medusa? The woman with snakes instead of hair who can turn men into stone?” Midas asked, his eyes still closed.  
“Yes I am, are you going to kill me now?” she replied with a bit of an attitude.  
“I am not certain yet, I was told to kill you, but now? To kill a woman with a sweet voice like yours? I don’t know.”  
“I must confess something to you” Medusa said “I have watched you climb the mountain and I knew what you came for. I have had many chances to kill you but I decided to let you live.”   
“Why would you? If you knew what I was told to do, why let me live?”  
With a trembling voice Medusa told him her reason: “Because I also knew about the wish Dionysus made come true and I knew you might understand me…”

Medusa felt a tear appearing on face and she knew that Midas would be able to hear the hurting in her voice, but she continued talking anyway. He was her last chance! If Midas couldn’t understand her, no one could!   
“I can’t look anyone in the eyes without turning them into stone! I never asked for this! I only am like this because I made Athena angry once, and now! Now I am a monster!” 

The tears flooded Medusa’s face by now, she completely broke down. Midas, who listened to what she told, couldn’t help her. He couldn’t touch her for comfort because she’d turn into gold. He didn’t know what to do, the only thing he knew is that he wouldn’t kill this woman, this poor, poor woman.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midas and Medusa have a difficult talk

It had been a month since Midas met Medusa on top of the mountain, he’d stayed with her after their first conversation. It hadn’t been easy, Midas had to keep his eyes closed constantly and Medusa had to watch out that he wouldn’t walk into anything, especially not into her! But together they made it work, they’d build a home and lived happily together. Midas even started to have feelings for this woman, this sad woman who no one could ever love. But then, who could love him? He couldn’t even give a kiss! He was curious about the looks of this woman, he’d heard that she was disgusting, with snakes instead of hear and nothing but hardness in her face, but how bad could it be? He knew Medusa as a kind woman who had a lovingly voice, she couldn’t be that horrifying!  
Still deep in thoughts, he heard Medusa coming. “May I see you?” He asked  
“I’d love for you to see me, but you’d turn into stone!”  
“I think that I’d only turn into stone if I’d look you into your eyes, so if you’d close your eyes I could see you!”  
“I guess that you could then… but are you really sure that it works like that? I do not want to lose you!”  
“I’ve heard stories about a men who saw you and ran, he survived so I believe that it’s possible!”  
Medusa stayed quiet, like she was thinking about it. After a short amount of time, what seemed like an eternity for Midas, she broke the silence.  
“Well, if you’re really sure I’ll do it.” she said a bit insecure “I have my eyes closed, so you can open them now.”  
Midas opened his eyes and blinked while they adjusted to the light. Slowly the silhouette of Medusa became visible, he looked at her bare feet and followed her legs up. She was wearing a beautiful white dress that waved in the soft breeze. His look went up even more, towards her face. It wasn’t nearly as horrifying as he heard, the snakes on her head were a bit scary of course, but her face was soft and beautiful. Midas had a feeling he never felt before! Was this love? Did he love this strange woman? He slowly walked towards her, closer and closer, he wanted to touch her so bad! His hand reached slowly to her face but just before he could touch her she stepped back.  
“Why the hell are you trying to touch me?!” Medusa yelled “You know what happens with everything you touch!”  
“I … uhmm, I don’t know” Midas stumbled “It’s just… I haven’t been able to touch anyone for so long! And when I saw you... I didn’t think about it, it was like my mind just blacked out or something.”  
“I’m sorry that you can’t touch anyone, but there is nothing I can do to change it! I know it sucks, but it doesn’t make any difference for me. Of course it would be great if we could have a normal relationship but we can’t! We can’t touch, we can’t see each other at the same time, sometimes I wonder why we even try to be together.”  
“I know that I’ve made a mistake today, but I won’t do it again! I’ve learned from it!”  
Midas looked at Medusa’s closed eyes and saw a small tear appear “You know that you can’t make that promise, it’s just a matter of time before we look at each other or we touch.” Her voice broke.  
“But, but I love you!”  
“You wouldn’t love me anymore if you’d know what I did… I am a horrible person! That is why I was cursed! I was horrible before the curse and now, now I’m even worse. If you knew what I did you’d run off as fast as you could.”  
“No, I wouldn’t. I love you, I want so stay with you and there is nothing that you can say to change that. There is nothing so bad that I would leave you.”  
Medusa sat down with her back against a tree, her knees pulled towards her chin. “I… I killed the servant boy who was in love with you.”  
Midas stood in total shock, his mind couldn’t get around the fact that the woman he loved killed his friendly, loyal servant. after a while Medusa pulled her head up, her eyes still closed. “I’m sorry” she said with a soft voice.  
“YOU’RE SORRY? YOU KILLED MY SERVANT, THE ONLY FRIEND I HAD IN THIS WORLD AND YOU’RE SORRY?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?” Midas screamed.  
“I heard how he confessed his love to you, I got so jealous that I send a snake to kill him.”  
“Why would you be jealous? You hadn’t even met me!” his voice sounded a bit less angry.  
“I saw you long before you know, thanks to my snakes I know everything that happens on this mountain and I’d been spying on you ever since you started climbing. I heard every word you said, when I learned that you were in a situation like mine I started to have feelings for you. And when Atalo said that he loved you! I just couldn’t handle it. Then I…”  
Midas interrupted her “But you must have heard that I told him that I didn’t like him in that way!”  
“You did what? But I thought that you liked him back! I saw the way you looked at each other, that isn’t the way the soldiers looked at each other when they came to kill me!”  
“That is because he wasn’t just my servant, he was my lifelong friend. His father was my fathers first servant and we grew up together. Yes, I loved him, but only as a friend!”  
“I, I.. I am sorry!” Medusa stuttered, with tears in her eyes she ran away.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaannnd, the final chapter

Medusa sat with her back against a tree, not just any tree, the tree under witch Atalo was buried. She could feel the tears streaming over her cheeks who were red from shame. “Why did I do this? Why did I kill this innocent man?” Medusa thought to herself “Because I’m a jealous, judgmental bitch. Oh, I wish that I could just turn back the clock and stop myself from killing him, I’ve really hurt Midas with this!” Medusa knew that she would go to the underworld when she’d die for killing this man, but she didn’t really care about that. The main thing on her mind was one important question: “What can I do to make Midas forgive me, if he ever can?”  
Medusa had spend a whole day and night crying and thinking about that question. She couldn’t think of an answer and she felt even worse about herself than she already did. “This is enough.” Medusa though “I’m just going to have to face Midas about this and beg for his forgiveness, I have to take this chance otherwise I will fade away just like the nymph Echo did after Narcissus didn’t return her love.”  
When she made up her mind and stood up, she heard a sound behind her. Quickly she turned around, it must be another soldier who came to kill her! When she’d turned she saw who it was, Midas. He’d came to talk to her and to tell her that he would forgive her, but his eyes were open and so were Medusa’s. In a quick second they both realized what happened, but before any of them could say a word, Midas was turned into stone with the expression of shock still on his face. Medusa’s face who just had dried got wet again with her salty tears when she saw that she turned Midas, her beloved Midas into stone. She completely broke down and fell at his hard, gray feet. Filled with despair she embraced his legs, she did not think about his curse when she slowly stood up and kissed him while taking his hand in hers. She turned into gold. 

Epilogue  
Now, after thousands of years and many earthquakes, no one has ever found the statues of Midas and Medusa, one of stone and one of gold. People say that if you walk in the mountains you can still hear Medusa crying over all the things that happened to her and maybe, one day, somebody will find the mountain of Medusa and walks towards the largest tree there and maybe that person will trip and fall over the statues buried in time. When that day comes, we must hope that Midas and Medusa won’t get separated and sold but that they get a quiet place where they can be comfortable together until the end of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You could probably guess the end, but I just really wanted to write this

**Author's Note:**

> I just really liked the idea of Midas and Medusa together, haha


End file.
